Books to Share With My Granddaughter

I'm linking up with The Broke and the Bookish to share this week's top ten.

I love children's books. My children's education was heavily influenced by a literature based curriculum. My granddaughter will turn one next month. Here are some of my favorite picture books I can't wait to read to her.

Corduroy

I read this as a child. I always wanted a Corduroy of my own. The illustrations are so cute. There are at least a couple more books featuring this adorable bear, and of you are looking for diversity in your kid's lit, this is a great choice.

Caps for Sale

This story about a hat peddler whose hats are stolen by monkeys is a lot of fun to act out. Monkey see, Monkey do.

The Snowy Day

Another diverse book. This one was a novelty for us since we live in Florida. The art is amazing.

Amy Loves the Wind

I picked this one up on a whim for $.25 at thrift store. It quickly became a family favorite. It's one of the sweetest books I've ever read. There are several more in the series that I need to get. 

Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear?

This one rhymes! This super cute book follows Jesse bear through his day. It's also part of a series.

 

Ask Mr. Bear

Anything with farm animals is bound to be a hit. This book is a fun opportunity to talk about animals and the sounds they make.

The Big Green Pocketbook

Every little girl loves to spend the day with her mom. This book follows a mother and daughter as they spend their day doing exciting things like riding the bus and going to the post office. The little girl saves her whole day in her purse.

Katy No Pocket

What's a kangaroo with no pocket to do? Enlist the help of a friendly handy man.

We're Going on a Bear Hunt

This is another one to act out. I used to read this to my Sunday School Class when we were waiting for the parents to show up. It helps get the wiggles out.

The Carrot Seed

This one is great for spring. A little boy plants a seed, tends it, and patiently waits for it to grow. Lots of teachable moments.

Yellow Ball

A wonderful book for summer. This is a great one for talking about the ocean. The illustrations are simple and gorgeous.

A great blog to follow if you want picture book recommendations is Everyday Reading. She is a former librarian and mom of four small girls. She post lots of book lists, and has a free class you can take on picking books and encouraging reading in your home.

What are some of your favorite picture books? Let me know in the comments.

Summer is Gone ~ School Has Begun

This summer has zipped past us, as all summers seem to do. We started school last week. This school year is so different than the previous ones. The most obvious change is that Adam has graduated. I still have trouble wrapping my head around that thought. I have an eighteen year old, high school graduate. I remember holding him on my 22nd birthday and thinking that when I turned thirty he would be eight, and that was very, very far away.

Another change this year is that I have done very little planning. I'm actually just writing things down as I go. I have a lot of things planned in my head...they just haven't made it to paper yet. For the most part, we are in a rhythm. We just move on to the next level or the next subject. I always try to be flexible, and allow for interest led learning, so the girls have chosen some of their own subjects this year. Here is a break down of what we are learning this year:

Elin ~ 10th grade

Geometry ~ Teaching Textbook

Chemistry ~ Apologia Science

*English 2 ~ Alpha Omega

Spanish 2 ~  Alpha Omega

Home Ecomomics

 Bible ~ Family Reading Bible, church

Speech ~ CEF Training Class

 

*I usually do my own literature units for high school using a reading list and Spark notes. This year, I let Elin choose what she wanted to study. She chose: Romeo and Juliet, Persuasion, Alice in Wonderland, and The Scarlet Letter.

 

 

Anna ~ 5th grade

Math 5 ~ Teaching Textbooks

Language Arts ~ Easy Grammar, Beyond Five in a Row

Science ~ Five in a Row Nature Studies, Beyond Five in a row, interest-led unit studies

History ~ Beyond Five in a Row, interest-led unit studies

Bible ~ Family Reading Bible, church

 

I still have a few more things to purchase, but we are off to a good start. I'm hoping to get a lot accomplished and maintain a good schedule through out the year. We'll see how that goes.



Our Old Friend Homer

This week Anna is finishing a six week literature unit based on Homer Price by Robert McCloskey. This unit is always a little sentimental to me because I remember reading the "diamond bracelet in the doughnut story" when I was in elementary school. And this will probably be the last time I do this unit. That makes me a little sad.

Some of the topics we covered were:

highway signs

the history of radio and television

simple machines

fictional story formats

The Iliad and The Odyssey

chemical elements and the periodic table

cartooning

telephones ~ history and how they work

history of the Red Cross

fiction writing

county fairs

birds and eggs

political parties

Rip Van Winkle

women's suffrage

I kept lousy records on this unit, so that's something I will need to work on with next one which will be about Betsy Ross. Homer Price was really a lot of fun and very low stress. We'll take a couple weeks off before we start Betsy, and I will let Anna pick a history and science topic to study on her own.



You Can't Mess Up Kindergarten

I was talking to my niece a few weeks ago about home schooling. She has a pre-schooler and she  was sharing some of her concerns about starting up, so I thought would share some of the resources I've used over the years. I don't do formal schooling until kindergarten, and even then I keep it light and fun. I have home schooled 2 Kers, and they have both turned out fine. My mantra is "you can't mess up kindergarten". So...here are some of my favorite resources and curricula.

Five in a Row: This is what I use as my spine. It uses literature based unit studies to cover social studies, language arts, fine arts, applied math (I don't do formal workbook math until 1st grade), and science. There is a list of picture books in the front of the book. Each week you choose a book. Everyday you read the book and cover one subject. There are several lessons to choose from. You can do as many as you want or only do one. I have used this since the first day I home schooled. I love it.

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons: This is the reading curriculum I used. It's pretty dry, but it gets the job done. After the whole manual is completed your child should be reading at about a 2nd grade level.

A Reason for Handwriting: This is a traditional handwriting approach. It uses scripture for practice which makes it easy to incorporate Bible memory into your routine.

That about sums up how I did kindergarten. We were always done by lunch time, which left the afternoon for rest, free play, and lots of snuggling on the couch with a good book. As far as socializing goes, I never did much outside of church activities and programs. If your church doesn't have much for school age children I would recommend finding an AWANA program or something similar in your area. I would be happy to answer any questions anyone might have about home schooling. Just remember: You can't mess up kindergarten!



I Bless the Rains Down in Africa

Anna and I ended the school year in Botswana, Africa. It was a lovely visit, and we didn't even have to leave our home. We used a Five in a Row style unit study from Home School Share based on Honey, Honey, Lion by Jan Brett. It was a great end to the school year. The highlight of the study was making papyrus paper and drawing "hieroglyphs" on it. Here are some pictures and a list of the books we read for our study.

Honey, Honey, Lion ~ Jan Brett

Lions ~ Gallimard Jeunesse

Lions at Lunchtime ~ Mary Pope Osborne

Botswana ~ Sara Louise Kras

The Magic School Bus Inside a Beehive

The Life and Times of the Honeybee

Waterhole Waiting ~ Jane and Christopher Kurtz

The Water Hole ~ Graeme Base

Anna and I had lot of fun learning this year. It is hard to believe she will be a 4th grader. This year really reaffirmed my love of literature unit studies. I plan to continue them next year, but with chapter books. I can't wait!

Swimming With the Penguins

Anna and I have spent the last few weeks doing a penguin unit study. We have have studied not only penguins, but also their habitats, predators, Antarctica, the Arctic, and the men who explored Antarctica and the Arctic. When we do a unit study, we incorporate as many subjects into it as possible. Instead of just doing science when we do an animal study, I find ways to work in social studies and language arts as much as possible.

We read lots of books when we do a unit study. I had a picture of the 14 library books I had checked out for Anna to read. Russty deleted it. He says he thought they were EBay pictures. Honestly! Here is a list of them: 

Antartica~Wendy Viero

Life Under ice~Mary M.Cerullo

Summer Ice~Bruce McMillan

Sir Earnest Shackleton~Hal Marcovitz

What's a Penguin Doing in a Place Like This~MiriumSchlein

Penguins~Gail Gibbons

Penguins and Polar Bears~Sandra Lee Crow

 The Emperor's Egg~Martin Jenkins

Penguins and their chicks~Margaret Hall

Penguins and Antarctica~Mary Pope Osbourne

Eve of the Emperor Penguin~Mary Pope Osbourne

Mr. Popper's Penguins~Richard and Florence Atwater

Black Whiteness~Robert Burleigh

Yes, Anna read them all. We also blubbered through March of the Penguins together. Anna has inherited my low tolerance for nature documentaries. For written work, I printed worksheets from Homeschool Share which is a wonderful resource for unit studies. Lots of free stuff. We put them in the scrapbook she has been working on this year. Here are some pics.



I am now working on a lion/Africa unit study to finish out the year. I'm so excited! I'll do a post on it when we're done.

Penguins, Digestion, and Thankfulness

Another busy week is almost over. The girls have had a good week back in school, and Adam has been finishing up the tennis season in Ponte Vedra at districts.

Anna and I did a small unit study on food, nutrition, and digestion yesterday and today, and I am amazed at how intricate our bodies are. Did you know if our stomachs were not lined with mucus they would digest themselves? I'm glad God is detailed oriented! Next week we study penguins and the Arctic. I love penguins, so this should be fun. I checked out almost every book the library had on the arctic. I am hoping to end the week with March of the Penguins. I hope it isn't too sad. I don't do well with nature documentaries. They make me cry.

 Next week is a big week. Elin will be turning 14 on the 16th! That kicks off the official birthday season of the Hoke family. I will pretty much be baking cakes and cooking favorite meals from now til the end of may. Can't wait.

Here is this week's Thankful Thursday list:

long talks with Adam

a dogwood tree in bloom

being shown my flaws so I can correct them

laughing girls

my stomach lining

I would love to know what you are thankful for. And if you know of any great penguin resources, please share them!